Miss Sinaloa Wrapped Up In Guns And Cash Rap

Laura Zúñiga, a Mexican pageant beauty from Sinaloa who was set to represent her country at Miss International 2009, was arrested Tuesday in Guadalajara, riding in an SUV packed with seven men, two assault rifles, three pistols, 500 rounds of ammo, 16 cell phones and $53,000 in cash. Cops say one of the guys is a leader of the Juárez drug cartel, an organization that has loose links to the Pacific Cartel.

The alleged drug lieutenant is also Zúñiga's boyfriend, who she claims kidnapped her and forced her into the exceedingly suspicious vehicle. That's not so hard to believe in Mexico, where even anti-kidnapping experts get taken hostage in news so ironic it'd be funny if it weren't so tragic.

Hundreds of people are kidnapped in Mexico every year, and the US State Department has this warning:

Kidnapping, including the kidnapping of non-Mexicans, continues at alarming rates. So-called express kidnappings, an attempt to get quick cash in exchange for the release of an individual, have occurred in almost all the large cities in Mexico and appear to target not only the wealthy, but also the middle class.